Yesterday’s (27th October) UK Government Budget did not see, despite many forecasts from economists, any changes to Capital Gains Tax (CGT).
For owners of UK businesses the CGT charge has been held at 10%, which as far as tax incentives work in practice is about as good as it gets.
The big question though is when will the CGT rate change, in the real world this might lead to UK companies being open to acquisition more readily now before the political pressure to raise the CGT rate eventually happens.
The rate of UK acquisitions has been higher statistically during the covid pandemic compared to prior years which in no small part has been a reflection of the expectation for CGT to rise.
Michael Clarke
CFO